Instacart explores sale with Uber and DoorDash as potential buyers; shares jump 9% (Oct 23)
What happened
Instacart (Maplebear, CART) is exploring a possible sale and has held preliminary discussions with potential buyers including Uber and DoorDash, The Information reported on Friday, October 23, citing people familiar with the matter. Instacart has hired an investment bank to evaluate its options, according to the report. Shares of Instacart closed about 9% higher on Friday, while Uber fell nearly 3% and DoorDash dropped more than 4%. Instacart declined to comment; Uber and DoorDash did not immediately respond. Discussions are ongoing and there is no guarantee they lead to a deal. A typical takeover premium of 30-40% would value Instacart at roughly $16-17 billion, versus its roughly $12 billion market value at Thursday's close.
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Who’s affected
- Instacart (CART): takeover target, +9% Friday on the report; a 30-40% typical tech premium implies $16-17B vs ~$12B market value
- Uber (UBER): potential buyer, -3% Friday as investors weigh deal cost and antitrust risk
- DoorDash (DASH): potential buyer, -4%+ Friday on the same concerns
- Amazon (AMZN): read-through — grocery delivery is contested by Amazon Now, and a combined rival would intensify competition
Sources